Of Dame Edna Born

Was listening to an interview with everyone's favorite Australian Lady, Dame Edna, and really, really, really started to wonder about her astrological chart. I also wondered about her "alter ego" Barry Humphries, chart as well. It turns out that Dame Edna is a Sadge. No wonder she's so charming, and so much fun.

I assumed that Dame Edna would have a Leo Moon, but I was wrong. To my personal (well, heh) delight, the Dame actually has a Capricorn Moon. Well, we Capricorn Moons certainly do make a good spoof of the female ego, don't we? The control thing; The "Mature Woman" who leaves her invalid husband behind in order to go after her career, jet-setting around the world, confidante to the Queen (in her own mind at any rate).

Well.... the astrologers like to tell us Capricorn Moons that life gets better after we get older (b.s. interpretation) ... Edna's thriving I guess because she has the charming Sadge Sun and North Node to fall back on.

Humphries himself has the zany Aquarius Sun, perfect signature to play an "alter ego" since opposite sign Leo rules the Ego proper. His natal Moon is in Aries. Mom was a spitfire? Interesting that Dame Edna was first "born" in 1955 when Humphries progressed Moon was probably in Capricorn, he must have been really depressed that year to the point that he had to do something about it.

Humphries has a loaded 12th house with Sun, NN, Saturn and Venus in that house. Great for an actor who escapes into other characters. His Saturn is conjunct his North Node to the degree and it's interesting that his Wikipedia entry says that his absent, strict Father was his inspiration for wanting to escape into other characters during childhood.

One would want to take a look at Humphries' natal Venus, of course, to understand his ideas about women, and art. His Venus is in Aquarius and unaspected and retrograde. That means that weird women are a strong signature for him. At any rate, tt's no surprise that he is involved with Arts and Comedy and the Unusual and with Shock. When he was younger he performed as a Dada-ist. That certainly embraces the unusual.

Onward to the Mommy story. It's connected with Humphries' natal Rx Venus, so prominent in his natal chart, which went direct around 1942 by progression when Humphries was around the age of 8. During the same age his progressed Mercury stationed Rx. I went back to Wikipedia to find out if any significant changes in psychology would show up around that time. Wikipedia says that his Mother threw away all his books when he was 9 years old! Mercury = Books! Rx equals being held back and forced to stew in the juices of the planet for a while longer than other folks.

Rather than turning to sports, or whatever, as Aries Moon Mom probably would have preferred after tossing out all her sons' precious books, Humphries became a voracious reader and turned to all kinds of Mercurial antics. His natal Mercury is in his first house of personality conjunct Mars in Pisces and is opposing Neptune. Humphries also suffered from Neptune's flip-side problem and turned to drinking early on. He was sent to Rehab in the early 1970s when his parents found him passed out face down in a gutter. His progressed Mercury had stationed Direct back in the mid-60s. It passed into Aries around 1991.

Right now Dame Edna herself is close to celebrating a New Moon in Aquarius by Progression. This means that her Sun (and possibly Moon) is at 22 Aquarius and is going to be in conjunction with her "Alter Egos" natal Sun in about 6 years. No walker for this old lady, her mind will stay sharp as a tack.

Margaret Mead

I spent most of Saturday night digging through the magazine racks at the Barnes & Noble. Even spent a while gawking at the latest issue of Skeptic Magazine and found an interesting story about a guy who spent 40 years trying to discount Margaret Mead's findings about the sex lives of natives in Samoa. Mead was the anthropologist who is said to have opened the gateways for the sexual revolution of the 1960s with her writings about how the free sex lives of the natives of Samoa. Apparently this wasn't true for all Samoans, just the ones who Mead, as a closeted Lesbian, was most attracted to.

The article in the magazine was was actually trying to debunk Mead's debunker. This magazine just loves to disagree with everything. There was also some kind of article about how professional Magicians are more skeptical than the average person. Maybe this was the once a year Introspective Issue where the Skeptics turn on themselves, sort of like watching a dog chew its own tail off. Capricorn Moon here; I was entertained.

At any rate, the debunker was Derek Freeman. Like Mead, he was an anthropologist. Freeman said that he interviewed the two women who Mead had originally interviewed as old ladies they told him that they had sort of made up the stories because they were embarrassed by Mead's questions. Sounds reasonable, but who knows.

At any rate the story in Skeptic magazine says that the fateful interview was on Mar. 13, 1926. I just love it when they give the date. Actually the article even said that the interview happened at night. It's sort of like Skeptic Magazine was tossing a bone to me so they could have a new person to attack. Wonder if they could sell an issue that attacks a blog called "Out the Comet's Ass?" That would be even more perverse than the tail chasing scene. By the way, are there any women who write for Skeptic Magazine or is this sort of White Boy thing like the Astrologers who live in Tempe, AZ?

Either way, I wanted to take a look at Mead's chart to see if it could show that she would be vulnerable to deception on that date, or whatever else it could explain. And I also wanted to look at what happens in a chart when there is a great public reaction to a person's idea and then a gradual wearing away of that idea. Scorpio Midheaven can show this.

Margaret Mead
b. Dec. 16, 1901 9:00 am Philadelphia, PA

Sun 24 Sagittarius; Moon 27 Aquarius; ASC 18 Capricorn; MC 12 Scorpio; NN 12 Scorpio;

Mead has the type of chart you'd expect to find in an independent, educated woman concerned with humanitarian causes, a real adventurer. She was a Sagittarius with an Aquarius Moon. Her Sun is conjunct Uranus which repeats the Uranian theme of her Moon.

Mead's Ascendant is also really interesting. It is Capricorn which shows a serious ambitious personality. She was born during a conjunction of Jupiter to Saturn in Capricorn which is tightly conjunct the Ascendant and Mars. Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions are thought to influence world politics. They were connected for a long time to Tecumseh's curse which led to the attacks of Presidents in the U.S. The last George Bush was the first President to break this curse. Tecumseh has a really witty ghost apparently.

Mead's Mars-Jupiter-Saturn-ASC stellium does not make any aspects with the rest of Mead's chart. This shows that her personality would have been quite strong. It also will show down the line as affecting her relationships in some way as ASC/DESC shows this area of life. Saturn not only rules her chart and is in conjunction with the Ascendant and the natural ruler of the Ascendant, Mars, it is also the final dispositor.

Respect is important to everybody, but for a Saturnian a loss of respect can be deadly. It can show fear of failure. Either way, Mead's work was kept stable until after her death. She has Scorpio on her Midheaven with a conjunction of her North Node on the same degree in Scorpio. How great is that for the woman who is thought to have a great influence on the Sexual Revolution of the 60s? Freeman waited to publish his debunking book until after Mead's death, that's a Scorpio MC I guess. Scorpio also gives one the magnetic and powerful ability to hold on to one's reputation. I looked at Donald Rumsfeld's chart which showed all kinds of different things. (The post is somewhere, I don't know where.)

On Mar. 13, 1926, a number of aspects were setting off Mead's chart. She was going through her first Uranus square transit. By coincidence the Sun was conjunct Uranus in both her Natal Chart and in the Transiting Chart of that day. There may also have been a New Moon on that night in Pisces which means that the Moon was approaching conjunction with Sun-Uranus by transit and squaring the natal.

That much Sun-Uranus action could have indicated that she was perhaps coming on a bit too strong for the natives. Her enthusiasm may have influenced their responses and reactions. Sun is Ego and Uranus is sort of the alter Ego as it rules the opposite end of the Leo polarity. I suppose if we want to start a Revolution, we might as well be going through a major Uranus aspect like this, though. Mead already had that Mars-Saturn conjunction on her Ascendant natally and was no doubt a bit of a pushy personality. She would have needed this in order to do what she did in a man's world, even today.

Further influencing Mead at this time: she was going through both a Venus Return and a Mars Return on that day. Since these are the two planets that rule the love life of an individual it seems that Mead would have been taking the meeting with the two women in Samoa on some sort of personal level.

Further echoing the influence of the New Moon transit at the time of the meeting, Mead's progressed chart shows a New Moon aspect as well in Capricorn. And this New Moon was at 17-18 Capricorn is right on top of her Ascendant and Mars-Jupiter-Saturn Stellium! (Saturn 16 Cap; ASC, Mars and Jupiter 18 Cap)

The planets are definitely lining up for Mead to make a break through in some sort of way through the planets related to sociology, Jupiter-Saturn, by some sort of one on one relationship (interview). One of the women she interviewed, Fa'apua'a Fa'amu may have been born with the same Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in her own chart as well, as both women may have been born in the same year (can't vouch for the birth date I found on the Internet but it is listed below).

So, during a Pisces New Moon there can be deception or confusion at least. Since Fa'amu's Sun is at 10 Taurus and Mead's is at 24 Sagittarius I sort of wonder if the New Moon aspect was at the midpoint between their charts. There is a point between 5-7 degrees Pisces which I'll show is significant in Mead's progressed chart with relation to Retrogrades. Hey! I just noticed that I've been writing this just as we're approaching a New Moon in Pisces conjunct Uranus!!!!! Cool!!!

I was wishing of course to be able to determine from Mead's chart that her ideas would be "debunked." That's probably a stupid thing to look at for such an achiever but a subject that most real people can relate to more in their own lives (how many of us get to be one of the top Anthropologists of all time and the spark of a Sexual Revoluation? Can't relate? I didn't think so). It seems that this debunking is considered acceptable in Scientific communities and is part of the method. It's why everyone believes in Science. Since most Scientific ideas are debunked every 50 or 100 years that's not maybe the most logical point of view, but who am I to get in the way of progress?

I found some interesting connections between Mead's debunking and her progressed planets. Her progressed Venus went Retrograde in 1942 at 4 Pisces. Venus is going to describe a person's love relationships. Mead went through a few of these. The Retrograde can bring some kind of stalling with whatever is ruled by the planet involved. With Venus perhaps more with women than with men because Venus rules Women. Mead had 3 marriages and 3 divorces. By 1942 she was married to her 3d husband. He left her in 1950. She said that he was her true love and that he broke her heart. At this point she seems to have switched sexual preferences and have become Lesbian. She completely changed the identity of her love relationships in order to have one that would work. I think that is often what happens with prog. Venus Rx in whatever way. The extended stay at the same place in the chart makes a person have to look deeper into how they love and are loved. A Sun-Uranus person with Venus in Aquarius is probably going to take experimentation a bit further than most.

In 1957, Mead's progressed Mercury went Rx at 6 Pisces. I wonder how things went for her as Mercury rules communications. I think she taught for a long time in her later years.

I wonder also what the significance of this specific area of Pisces was for Mead's chart. Both Venus and Mercury went Rx near the same spot in Pisces in her progressed Chart. This point is in the 2d house of her natal chart and is trining her natal Neptune 1 Cancer-Sun opposition, so it is significant in some way. It certainly shows that she influenced the idea of "values" in society, a 2d House topic.

Mead's Mercury stationed Direct in 1978. This is the year that she died. (Mercury ruled her 4th House which shows "end of life" so I suppose this could be one interpretation for that aspect although I wouldn't want to use it in any readings.

I'll just quote the paragraph from Wikipedia here which explains Mead's debunker. He spent 40 years re-researching her research. One can line up his story along side the dates that I've just given. The correspondences are pretty interesting for trying to figure out exactly how Retrogrades in Progressions can figure in a person's life.

Freeman described incongruities between Mead's published research and his observations of Samoans:
“ In my early work I had, in my unquestioning acceptance of Mead's writings, tended to dismiss all evidence that ran counter to her findings. By the end of 1942, however, it had become apparent to me that much of what she had written about the inhabitants of Manu'a in eastern Samoa did not apply to the people of western Samoa...Many educated Samoans, especially those who had attended college in New Zealand, had become familiar with Mead's writings about their culture...[and] entreated me, as an anthropologist, to correct her mistaken depiction of the Samoan ethos.[5] ”

Freeman conducted research for more than forty years, describing his research as concluding in 1981 when he was finally granted access to the archives of the High Court of American Samoa for the 1920s;[6] consequently, his refutation was published only after Mead's death in 1978.

Derek Freeman's chart
b. he was a Leo, I forgot where I wrote down his birth date.

The woman he interviewed:
Fa'apua'a Fa'amu

b. Apr. 30, 1901
Sun 10 Taurus; Moon Virgo or Libra; NN 24 Scorpio

Fa'apua'a had a conjunction of Sun to Venus in Taurus. Venus is strong in her own sign here. This aspect certainly shows a woman with a lot of sexual charm. A sort of Helen of Troy. No wonder she sparked the Revolution.

On the Appalachian Trail with Governor Sanford

A South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford, who voted to impeach President Bill Clinton back in the day, recently went missing. His wife didn't seem to mind. His staff kept telling the media funny stories about his whereabouts. They said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, spending some quiet time far far away from any Cell Phone Towers, not bathing, hugging trees. So Sanford finally shows up and it turns out he was actually off hugging an Argentinian lady, not bathing, no cell phone to speak of. He says he's spent the last 5 days crying over the mess he's making of his life -- into the boobs of his lady love.

Crying? Let me guess, Evita is Mark Sanford's favorite Broadway show. (sorry, just had to say it).

Dude's been having an affair for a year with a home-wrecker he met 8 years ago. It's always interesting to see an 8 year cycle show up in a person with a Sun-Venus conjunction (1-8 Gemini) because the Sun and Venus have an 8 year cycle.

For these past months, the Venus Retrograde in Aries has been all over Sanford's Mars in Aries like an old suit. The Wife found out right before the Venus Retrograde and so they've been in therapy (square to Pluto). Not a good idea. With all that going on in Aries, especially in the case of Love, the heart is just not going to cool down. Aries horny. Aries want. Aries chase. In this case, the "Talkie Talk" is just going to be a "Royal Turn On." Call and Response is impossible. The more repressive, the kinkier. What's the matter with these therapists?

Let me restate here that this guy had tried to impeach the President for doing this very same thing. What did my Grandmother say? "Too soon we get old, too late we get wise."

Why do the Gemini Governors always get caught? Remember Eliot Spitzer?

Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina
b. May 28, 1960 Fort Lauderdale, FL

Sun 8 Gemini; Moon Cancer?; NN 21 Virgo

In my Lilith obsessed daze these days, I'm finding extra interesting the Lilith placements with Sanford's chart. Lilith will send you on all kinds of wild goose chases in the Romance department. We're just gonna have to call Mark "Crazy Pants" for right now. He just can't help himself what with Venus and Mars and Lilith and Middle Age and all. It's Porsche-buying Weather, Mark.

Sanford's Lilith transit is even more to blame than Venus here, or at least in addition to. Natally Sanford's got an opposition of Lilith to Jupiter from 3 Cancer to 1 Capricorn. I'd imagine that this isn't really a combo that will scream "stop" during key moments. Jupiter tends to say "Yes" to everything and Lilith mutters "Hubba, hubba, hubba" very deeply under her whiskey breath. And they are on the Aries Points so whatever they do has to come out to the public.

And so then along comes Pluto. Pluto. Pluto. Pluto. Tsk, tsk, tsk to you, Mr. Ruler of the Lacey Thong. Granted this has been a wild transit of Pluto over the APs due to the long Retrogrades from Mars last year and Venus this year. A really passionate set of out-of-control transits, imo.

Just as the Sun (Limelight) has hit his natal Lilith today -- Just past the Aries Point and the New Moon and the Summer Solstice -- Sanford publicly admits (Aries Points involved) that he has been having an affair. Ouch-amundo.

And then there's the problem of getting caught. Gotta look at Good Old Saturn for that. Sanford possibly has a natal opposition of Saturn to the Moon and if so he's caught up in guilt and responsbility and heavy stuff like that when it comes to anything connected to emotional relationships. He didn't have to spend that last 5 days crying like a baby (Cancer Moon), he could have been fucking madly and without reservation and then saying Gracias and Adios mi Amore.

Lilith is doing a Double Whammy thing here. As the Sun tops off natal Lilith so transiting Lilith tops off natal Saturn in Capricorn. And, of course, transiting Saturn is approaching conjunction to Sanford's natal North Node. That sort of puts a damper on his Destiny.

I'm taking a big guess here and I'm going to say that Chiron also has something to do with getting caught. Sanford's natal Chiron is at 3 Pisces opposing Pluto and it's squared by the natal Venus-Sun conjunction in Gemini. I suspect that this wasn't his first love affair. And so now he's riding into his Chiron Return in conjunction with Jupiter and Neptune. Those are some really happy pony pals to be riding alongside while you are screwing up your life. Right now he's probably in that weird mode where you're watching your life fall apart but you're actually feeling super high. The wife, the kids, the employees, the state. What is this compared with the beautiful, exotic Argentinian woman? Therapist is probably writing a prescription out for the Lithium even as we speak.

As for the fibs, Sanford's a Gemini and his progressed Mercury has gone Retrograde so he's getting a long term lesson in the powers and foibles associated with the gift of gab. Too bad this stuff has to go public because does anybody really care anymore? We gave Clinton a Heart Attack, we lost Eliot Spitzer. Perhaps Pluto in Capricorn is going to have more of a What Goes Around Comes Around kind of attack mode. Never really cared for that kind of office politics type of mentality but, you do know that this guy voted to impeach Clinton, don't you?

Some Notes about California's Budget Crisis and Progressed Chart

I just noticed some interesting dates that surround the Progressions in California's chart so I'll note them here along with some other observations about the current Budget crisis which is unbelievably huge.

California
Sept. 9, 1850 San Jose, CA (I think it was San Jose???)

Sun 17 Virgo; Moon Libra or Scorpio; NN 15 Leo

A couple of key indications for the Budget Crisis.

First off, the Saturn-Uranus opposition is transiting over California's Sun. I've mentioned before that I've noticed that this is connected with Depressions. Although these aren't usually planets connected straight off with money in astrology, they are connected to handling of large sums of money because Saturn rules Government and Corporate Business (along with Pluto) and Uranus rules Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Opening Bell Charts of the Stock Market each and every day in the United States. The California Sun is therefore strongly hooked in to this Global phenomenon. It is also connected because its Pluto squares the U.S. Pluto. Pluto rules Taxes, Investments, Bankruptcy.

California's Sun (Ego, Vitality, Will) is very prominently placed in Virgo. One never really thinks of anything in Virgo being prominently placed because Virgo is sort of an "anti-prominence" sign, sort of low key and reserved. Virgo celebrities tend to try to fake humility more than the other signs because there is always that discerning critical nature which can't handle being seen as a jerk. Anyway, back to money. The Sun naturally rules Leo so Virgo is Leo's 2d House. One might imagine that when a Virgo Sun is under stress it will express itself through 2d House issues like Money and Values and Worth perhaps more than the other signs (but that is only a theory, nothing that I've heard from astrologers).

The Sun in California's chart is unaspected so doesn't flow well with the other planets in the chart. That means when it receives a major long-term transit like this Saturn-Uranus opposition, it can't pass on any of the tensions to other planets.

The Sun is also the dispositor of the Leo North Node. Right now Saturn is passing over the Sun which is a time for budgets and management and constriction. And Saturn is opposed by Uranus which I've noted before can be connected with major money crises. Even Leo Sun/Capricorn Moon Ahrnold S., patronizing as he is, can't balance the budget. He's also facing a California crowd of people. This is certainly a case of Uranian people rebelling against & opposing everything that a Saturnian figure wants to get done.

Another problematic transit is that California is going through a Nodal Opposition. This is a a time of confusion (from Komilla Sutton), especially when the planet of confusion, Neptune, is conjunct the t.North Node and natal South Node. Additionally, California's natal Neptune is at 6 Pisces so California is inching its way towards a Neptune Return. As the natal Neptune is trining Venus this could indicate a financial boom or bubble coming up, but that would still be about 10 years down the road. Neptune, along with Mercury (Bills), rule Bubbles. Venus in mythology was born from Bubbles. California is full of bubbly blonds, or at least the Hollywood part is. This could explain the crazy, wild "Rushes" that affect California's economy, especially in combination with the Dynamic & Creative but crisis oriented Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Aries.

I also looked at the Secondary Progressions for possible Retrogrades that would bring about a financial budget crisis. Didn't see any concerning inner planets which should be a good sign as far as getting the economy going. Overall, I didn't see anything in connection, but did notice some interesting progression events with the Outer Planets. California has natal Saturn, Uranus and Pluto in Aries. And all three of these planets are Retrograde in the "birth" chart. Progressed Saturn came out of Retrograde around 1948 at 15 Aries. I'm not sure if this is connected with anything special in her history that would be connected with Saturnian types of activities.

I did notice that progressed Uranus came out of Rx at 28 Aries in 1966-67 right when Haight Ashbury exploded into Wavy Gravy. Prog. Pluto came out of Rx shortly after in 1973-74 at 28 Aries so these two planets really like to work together in this chart. These two planets were in conjunction by transit in Virgo in the mid-60s just as they were coming out of Retrograde. This would have happened while the two planets were just passing over the natal California Sun (at about 20 Virgo). So these planets really like to play around with California's Sun. That does explain the need for experimentation in California, especially in fields that are natural for Virgo like Health and Technology. Even the Blond ideal "California" woman is Virgonian with the emphasis on baby like virginal features (well, in the facial features, not in the bust and hip line.)

While looking up California's history on Wikipedia I noticed that during the natal Uranus-Pluto conjunction in the years between 1845 and 1850 right as California was being "born" was very active. The Settlers rebelled against Mexico, Mexico ceded the territory, the Gold Rush began and California joined the union. That's a whole lot of turmoil in a short amount of time and it certainly sounds like a Uranus-Pluto conjunction. And in Aries, what a combination! Talk about Crisis oriented. It's very interesting that Uranus-Pluto transits don't seem to be connected with earthquakes in California. There was a big earthquake in the L.A. area in the late 60s (Chatta-something, can't remember the name of the town) but it wasn't as big as the later ones that came during the Uranus-Neptune in Capricorn earthquakes. But I have noticed that the Months of October and Aries seem to bring on the Big ones which would hook in to all those Aries planets in the natal chart. Since I know that there would have been huge earthquakes in California prior to its becoming a State, it's almost as if the Earthquakes chose California's birthdate. (that statement probably won't make sense to anyone).

California has been growing and growing in population and economy, probably more than any other state. The dislodging of all these outer planet progression by Retrograde in the sign of Aries since 1948 could certainly be a big growth factor. Interesting that California's Uranus-Pluto conjunction is squaring the U.S. Pluto but I suppose several other states share that aspect as well.

Money is indicated by Venus, Pluto, Jupiter and the Sun in a chart. California's Progressed Jupiter might be an indicator in the money problems as it (prog. Jupiter) turned Retrograde around 2000 at 24 Libra. This opposes the natal Uranus-Pluto conjunction and is a strong indicator for Crises for anything having to do with expansion and over optimism. Jupiter rules Higher Education, Lawyers and Law, International Affairs, and Immigration. There is a huge problem with large amounts of illegal immigrants who don't pay anything into the system but are having large amounts of kids who have to be taken care of. Few people seem interested in granting immunity as was done back in the 80s. I heard on the radio the other day that polls show that less than thirty percent favor this. Meanwhile many of the immigrants are voicing a lot of anger over the situation. This is perhaps a sign of the Jupiter Rx opposing Uranus-Pluto. California's progressed Mars is at 6 Aquarius. I didn't see any tense aspects but Mars and Uranus together can be a rebellious situation. Progressed Mercury is at 30 Capricorn and is squaring that Uranus-Pluto conjunction. It is also within conjunction of Progressed Mars which is a sign of alot of "discussion."

The California Venus is at 14 Libra and is at 10 Capricorn by progression so she is squaring herself by Progression. As one of Venus' rulerships is Banking and Money and Cash on Hand I guess it makes sense that this square proves to be a time of challenge in that direction. The Progressed Sun would be at 26 Aquarius which is just past a quincunx aspect with its natal spot. That aspect shows a time of "adjustment" in the State's vitality. Aquarius and Virgo working together would be very good for technology and innovation and also for bringing people together but these signs otherwise struggle to work on common ground as they don't share common traits by quality or element. Huge hoards (Uranus-Pluto) of needy, poor, uneducated people is not really healthy (Virgo) for the community overall. Meanwhile, all the rich Liberals and the Governor are oblivious to these people and are trying to take away funding from the schools.... and the High School drop out rate is somewhere near 40 percent in many of the poorer public shcool systems. Errrrrrrr.

What Just Happened?

The Stock Market had a stellar couple of days. By coincidence a lot of Bloggers had screwed up accounts and couldn't post. Do you think it was Censorship? Well, I'm not losing and breaking things anymore. So, Thank you whoever fixed that little problem and please don't let it backslide into utter chaos in the future.

Anyway, I figure that nobody in his right mind would be buying Stocks under these conditions so this recent big gain must be part of the staging that are being worked in the back rooms of America. This is part of the special "Investor Confidence" clauses. Confidence is probably ruled by the Sun and Pluto and these planets happen to be ruling the Ascendant and Midheaven of the Opening Bell charts. So major Mortage and Insurance companies tanked last week (Lehman Bros., Merrill Lynch, AIG whoever the Hell they are). From what I gather this sudden barfing of the economy had to do with Jupiter and Pluto both going direct on Sept. 8 and Sept. 9, respectively. Virgo always suffers from indigestion so Saturn placed within that sign certainly isn't going to help. Hey, if a few more corrupt, neurotic, stupid, irresponsible little brats lost their jobs because of irresponsible selfish deals that they brokered, goodie goodie gum drops. Especially if I the Taxpayer don't have to really be responsible for all that rotten debt (wishful thinking).

These two haven't finished their performances though. Some big dates coming up in their orbits are around Nov. 27 when Pluto passes into Capricorn (Government control). Then on Dec. 31-Jan. 5, Jupiter will be at 29-30 Capricorn and will be conjunct the United States' natal Pluto.

The Good News comes for music lovers as Beethoven was a double Sagittarius born with a Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn.

This time around, the Sadge New Moon happens on/around Nov. 28 the day after Pluto enters Capricorn. I officially dub that "Ode to Joy Day." I've recommended this before and I'll recommend it again in case you want to prepare: great (and cheap) recordings of Beethoven's last Quartets performed by the Yale Quartet. (http://outthecometsass.blogspot.com/2007/05/why-its-good-to-be-alive-beethoven.html)

Beethoven was born during a Grand Outer Planet trine which shows an incredible natural attunement for the Harmony of the Spheres. Without that Grand Trine we'll probably end up with all kinds of ragtime piano players and a war will start over trying to get the ugly clanging to stop. Maybe Bjork will suddenly do a Broadway musical with some Brazilians and come up with something nice, though. Sagittarius does like its Broadway Musicals. Wow, you just never know.

No Growth in U.S. Economy

Ben Bernanke has now made a statement that he doesn't see any growth for the U.S. Economy in the near future. I decided to take a look at some things which represent Growth in the U.S. Chart. I use the Sagittarius Rising Chart. This one has 13 degree on the Ascendant, I think that's Sibley.

First off I looked at the Planets. Jupiter. Doi. Jupiter expands. The Moon rules Fertility. The Sun creates. Venus impels toward growth or destruction. Then I looked at the Progressions to see what kinds of stunted Retrogrades might be jamming the works.

The United States has Sun, Venus, and Jupiter in Cancer. That's a growth oriented situation.

Right now the Progressed Sun for the U.S. is at 4 Pisces trining the natal Venus and Jupiter at 4 and 6 Cancer respectively. Transiting Jupiter is in Capricorn opposing the United States Sun. And Progressed Jupiter has been Retrograde in Cancer since around 1905-6. If the U.S. has a Sagittarius Rising this is very important to look at because Jupiter is then the Chart Ruler. The timing of the Retrograde coincides with the 1907 Crash. Although there were many before it, that was the Crash that was the reason for the creation of the Federal Reserve Board as I was reminded yesterday by reading Monica's blog "Astrology Mundo." So this looks indicates heavy duty growth aspects. Of course, disease enjoys Growth as well.

So, then I thought what rules productivity because in my opinion the problem is not Growth but Productivity. We have turned into a Nation of Sheep. Not that there's anything wrong with Sheep, I just tried to make a dishcloth that had a sheep on it (didn't turn out) but they tend to follow along and graze all day. So I looked at Mars and Saturn. The U.S. has a conjunction of these two planets. The only thing these two might like is productivity. The conjunction is at the beginning of Virgo so the Country just had a Saturn Return. That can be a time of deep reckoning and being faced with big decisions.

Progressed Mars also moved into Retrograde around 2005-6 in Libra. Right now it is at 19 Libra Retrograde. That will eventually lead to great creativity but also heightened violence. On a current level this means that it's been hanging out on the Ascendant of the Opening Bell Chart for the NYSE. It has also been conjunct the Mercury-Venus-Mars conjunction in Libra. I was wondering how such a potentially nice aspect could have turned so much to its worst side. Maybe this is a reason, especially as its all been on the Ascendant of the Opening Bell Charts for the last couple of weeks.

The Progressions for the U.S. are actually pretty intense. The only planets that aren't Retrograde are Venus and Uranus. And Progressed Venus is conjunct (within 3 degrees) to Chiron in Aries at 18 Aries. That's opposing Progressed Mars Rx plus the Mercury-Venus-Mars conjunction.

The U.S. is born with a Mercury Retrograde and is now going through another Mercury Rx by Progression. This started sometime around 1993-94. Progressed Mercury is at 24 Aquarius. The extended trip through Aquarius was certainly good for becoming the center of the Technology Boom. Now prog. Mercury is being hit by the Neptune-Chiron-NN conjunction and is in the 4th House (Real Estate, Security, Mortgage) at Opening Bell.

So, here's the clinker, unrelated to what I've said so far. The natal U.S. Chart has a Mercury-Pluto opposition. Both planets are Retrograde. Mercury is at 25 Cancer Rx. Pluto is at 28 Capricorn Rx. Retrogrades make you really look deeply into whatever sign they're in. Cancer rules Real Estate and Capricorn rules Government. Mercury - Pluto is pretty sharp but also pretty paranoid and crisis oriented. And...

The Progressed Nodal Axis is now right on top of this opposition with 27 Cancer North Node. This means that Pluto is conjunct the South Node. Destiny come calling. Time of Trouble. Pluto represents crisis. But it also prunes and strips away dead weight so that all may prosper in the future. In gardening that's a good thing. In Economics I don't know why it can't be seen as a good thing. Tightening our big fat Sun-Venus-Jupiter in Cancer belts. At any rate transiting Jupiter will hit the Pluto-SN combination soon. As a Jupiter-Pluto conjunction (by transit) was involved in Cancer during the Great Depression this could certainly echo that energy.

If the Sagittarius Rising Chart were to be used one could see that the Progressed Moon and Progressed Ascendant are both at 1 Virgo. Virgo is another pruner. Don't get me going about how awful the transition is from Leo to Virgo in Progressions. I'm spending a lifetime finding this out. Leo just loves. Leo wants to create. All is well and simple. Then suddenly Leo realizes that his audience is snoring. That's when you know something's progressed into Virgo. And the lessons, although healthy, totally suck for the first 10 degrees.

Painkillers Kill More Americans Than Guns

Over-dosing and over-prescribing; more Americans are now dying from Prescription Pain Killers than from Guns.

from: http://wvgazette.com/New/Prescription+for_an_Epidemic/200711040016.

For the first time in modern American history, drug overdoses and other types of poisonings now kill more people than guns.

Such deaths more than doubled between 1994 and 2004, according to data obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics in a joint Sunday Gazette-Mail/West Virginia Public Broadcasting investigation.

The fastest-growing killers aren’t heroin and cocaine. They’re prescription painkillers.

Researchers were shocked when they saw the new numbers, said Lois Fingerhut, special assistant for injury epidemiology at NCHS.

“My God — Who would ever have thought that poisoning would have risen that quickly to surpass firearms?” she said.

West Virginians are more likely to die of drug overdoses than people from any other state. Poisonings — mostly overdoses — killed 20 times more West Virginians last year than they did in 1998 (see accompanying story).

Nationally, more than 30,000 people died from poisoning in 2004, the most recent year for which nationwide data is available.

When most people hear of poisoning, they don’t think of drug overdoses.

“What most people think of ... is a child getting into the Drano under the sink, but that’s the smallest part of poisoning deaths,” Fingerhut said.

“By far, the largest number of poisoning deaths are attributed to drugs. Nine out of 10 poisoning deaths in 2004 were drug-related.”

Prescription drugs are responsible for most of that increase in overdose deaths. Heroin deaths fell slightly between 1999 and 2004, while cocaine deaths rose 43 percent.

Drug Addiction is ruled by Neptune.

Rex Bills says that "Medicines" are ruled by Neptune, Saturn and Virgo.

"Pain" is ruled by Mars and Saturn. The opposite of Mars would be Venus. Perhaps this is a sign of a Peace Loving Nation? Mars has progressed into Libra which is ruled by Venus and it is Retrograde.

I looked up the Progressions for the Sibley Chart, July 4, 1776, 5:10pm, Philadelphia, PA. Wouldn't ya know? The U.S. Sun has progressed into Pisces, one of the signatures for Drugs and Addiction.

Progressed Sun is currently at 4 Pisces so it is still trying to get used to the Pisces vibe. P.Sun is also very significant in the Progressed Chart as it is in aspect to both of the planets that Bills gives to rulership of Pain. It is trining Saturn at 4 Scorpio and inconjunct to Mars 19 Libra Rx.

This is maybe telling us to take a look at the natal Mars-Saturn trine in the U.S. Chart. Progressed Mars is echoing the progressed Sun's aspect as it is moving back into a conjunction with n. Saturn and is trining n. Mars. I read this as meaning that we really don't know how to use Force right now and we are reexaminig what Strength really is (hopefully). That's why we're acting like Bam-Bam over in Iraq!

Confused? Bring in the CandyMan. Neptune, ruler of Drugs and Addiction is in Virgo, sign of Medicines. It has been Retrograde since about 1952. That timing seems to match up with the time in America when all the Household Moms starting turning to booze and tranquilizers. (Allopathic Medicine is so brilliant for treating Crises and Emergencies, but so bad at treating most chronic illnesses, ruled by 12th House & Neptune.)

Prog. Mercury is also Retrograde right now as well so our brains ain't working too good. Mercury is Retrograde in both the natal chart and the progressed Chart and they are in an inconjunct aspect right now. Inconjuncts are said to be related to health problems, so it makes sense that we are more mentally ill now than during most times. It's in Aquarius so this should give us extra opportunities to innovate new technologies to fix the world -- as long as we just keep attending the 12 step meetings, that is.

On a different note, it's interesting that in the Sibley Chart the Progressed Moon is so strong in the Progressed Chart. It is conjunct the Progressed Ascendant, both at 28 Leo. The natal Moon is at 28 Aquarius right on the Descendant. I suppose I would assume that Hillary Clinton would win the Presidency due to Moon's relationship with Women. Perhaps this isn't the correct chart after all.

J. Craig Venter - Prog. Mercury & Venus Rx's

J. Craig Venter is sort of the reason why I started writing this blog. He's the guy who got frustrated with the National Institutes of Health for doodling around while sequencing the Genome and decided to open his own company and do it himself, only quicker. He succeeded by a few years but wasn't well liked by most of the Science community.

A while back I read a very entertaining book about famous geneticists. The characters of the Scientists described were so well drawn out I figured it would be fun to compare the charts of different personalities who were following the same path in life careerwise. They were so different personality-wise. Then I couldn't find some of the birth dates and I realized that I know nothing about Science and I got distracted by something else. And now I can't even remember the name of the book or the author. The Title was very long, that's all I can say.

Venter was described as the aggressive, pushy maverick in the book. He needed to do things his own way. Big ego. In short, he was called "The Devil."

Meanwhile, another guy whose name I forget was sort considered the Angel of the Genetics community. He also stood up to the Science Community because he insisted that Geneticists follow ethical guidelines regarding the work. Ethics and Financial Reward don't always go hand in hand. When I looked at both scientists' charts I noticed that both had strong Saturn-Pluto ties in their charts and realized this could be one indicator that they would push against the grain. Venter has the conjunction and the other guy had the Trine. I thought of doing an Angel/Devil comparison but in the end realized that's stupid as both these men have done equal amounts of good for the world.

So, the Saturn-Pluto combo has its rep and its personality, not always considered airy fairy. I know, I've got one myself. I'm also amazed by the reactions I hear from Astrologers about Hillary Clinton and Al Gore concerning their conjunctions. No matter what these two do in life, they are still considered evil at the core. Also, I had an evil step-mother with the t-square from Hell that included these two planets and the personality and misdeeds to match so I know that Saturn-Pluto people can be a little overbearing and selfish. But, now that I'm studying the Progressions more closely I can find better reasons for why Venter would be considered a Devil. Oops, did I use that label? I said it was stupid.

J. Craig Venter
b. Oct. 14, 1946 Salt Lake City, UT

Sun 21 Libra; Moon Gemini; NN 13 Gemini

Ah, look at that weetol cute chart. All Air. Air Signs aren't Devils, they're sweet little munchkins with social skills. Thing is, Air Signs progress, the mental gets initiated into the emotional water signs. You can't stick your toe into the same river twice in life, we've got to learn life's lessons, we're all progressing (or spiraling) whether we like it or not.

Venter's Sun progressed into Scorpio. And natally he has Mercury, Mars and Venus in Scorpio which were illuminated by his p. Sun early on in life so everyone immediately knew what a brilliant Medical Researcher/Scientist he was. His book describes how his life was sort of just carried along by his natural abilities.

Venter's got Mercury, Mars and Venus in Scorpio squaring his natal Saturn-Pluto conjunction. This indicates that he's got plenty of confidence and is a risk taker. Although this seems like a bit too creative of a combination for a stodgy science laboratory, one can see the affinity for scientific research, the confidence, ambition & showmanship.

But, his Venus went Retro by Progression when he was in his teens and then his Mercury went Retro by progression just before he received his Doctorate. And they did this after just barely passing over in to Sagittarius so they knew how much lighter things get once you reach the other side and don't have to deal with all that deep churning Scorpio stuff. That can be frustrating.

A while back I heard Adrian Duncan Ross give a whole lecture on how progressions act when they go retrograde back over cusps. If I'm remembering correctly I think he said that by that time you already know the lessons given by the end degrees of the signs, you're really sick of the energy and just want to move on to something new. In this case, life makes you go back and learn more of what you're tired of. And nobody really wants to learn more Scorpio. Venter describes in his recent autobiography how naturally all things Scorpionic came to him at work. He was intelligent, confident, driven, he was creative in his observations, he could manage large groups of people.

First to mention the progressed Sun. Venter's Sun progressed into Scorpio in 1956 when he was around 10 years old. His Sun progressed into Sagittarius around 1985 when he started working at the National Institutes of Health. Between that time it passed over and highlighted his Mars, Mercury, and Venus and squared his Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Leo. After the p.Sun passed into Sagittarius he really does seem to have become known for Sagittarius traits. Highly opinionated, independent, and impatient with bureaucracy, along with high intelligence.

Now to move on to Venter's Venus. Natally it is at 30 Scorpio. It's influence is strong in his chart because it is unaspected and it disposes his Sun. His Prog. Venus went Rx at 3 Sagittarius in 1960. Noel Tyl has described Venus Rx "issues" as having to deal with "love ability."

Things here get really interesting. Venter went to Vietnam right after this time and was so full of despair he attempted suicide. He literally titles the Chapter describing this time in his life as "University of Death." Sagittarius rules universities, Scorpio rules Death and Venus rules self worth. Pretty interesting. Venter was also in a foreign land. He swam out into the water where he knew poisonous sea snakes were with the idea that he would be bitten. Snakes are just so Scorpio, this seems like some kind of weird Odyssyean imagery (I don't know how to spell that and neither does spell check). Venter's Venus passed back into Scorpio and stayed Retrograde in that sign until 2000-2001 when he was awarded for sequencing the Genome. Because of this Retrograde his Self worth was truly honed to what Sagittarius would truly want it to be. Venter was married twice during this time and divorced twice. He's now in a new relationship. Hope she's a free spirit.

Venus Retrograde, in the Libra sense, could bring social difficulties, lack of diplomacy. Could explain why Venter didn't feel comfortable around his peers and finally just decided to buck against them. As he's a Libra Sun this would have affected his ego expression more strongly than other signs. Could also explain the Devil label, especially coming from Scorpio.

According to Venter's biography he had multiple talents for working in the medical field, both through people skills, intelligence and management skills. He went to school after serving in Vietnam and finished his Ph.d early. Lots of Scorpio drive. Mercury, like Venus, is strong in Venter's chart because it disposes both his Moon and his North Node. This one I can't quite figure out. I need a good keyword for what a Mercury Rx means. Mercury Rx in transit of course brings all kinds of snafus which would make all the details of medical research ten times more difficult. Natally it can make a person feel out of place and misunderstood, just because communications are so important in the world. I read only part of his autobiography and skipped this entire part of the book. Maybe that's part of the thing. I can't imagine trying to do Medical Research under a long Mercury Retrograde progression, ew.

In Venter's case, his Mercury went Rx by Progression in 1973-74 at 8 Sagittarius just before Venter received his Ph.d (1975). Mercury in Sagittarius is very fitting for achievement in the academic world. Then it went Rx and he started working out in the world.

Venter's progressed Mercury seems to correspond pretty closely with his relationship problems. He got his first Divorce as Mercury passed back into Scorpio. At the same time, Mercury was conjunct prog. Sun. He got involved with and married one of his students, very Mercury. His Mercury stationed direct in 1993-94 while conjunct his prog. Venus. Something significant probably happened that year. Mercury passed into Sagittarius in 2006.

Venter claims he will be able to use Genomic science as sort of an Alchemical process. I don't know if he can spin straw into Gold but he says he will be able to turn human urine into drinking water. I've heard that there's a video of Venter on the Colbert Show telling this to Stephen Colbert and that it's the only time you'll ever see Stephen Colbert speechless and bowing in reverence to one of his guests.

Venter's natal Mars is also in Scorpio in his natal chart. It has never gone retrograde. He's very athletic and has a special interest in sailing.

Brother Eliot Rides Rough on the Mayflower

Okay, this is going to be a Quickie. Yes, that's right, it's about Eliot Spitzer. It appears from the headlines that he has indeed resigned from his "Position" as Governor of New York. I think it was because he was from so much pressure from the Late Night Comics. Spitzer had to quit because he got caught renting hookers from a House of Ill Repute. As Governor all his finances are inspected and once his tab ran up into the $80,000's bracket the FBI walked in. Gemini's aren't usually this dumb, wonder what happened.

I don't know what kinds of moralistic things Spitzer tried to fix in his short term as Governor but I'm pretty sure his fall isn't about Morals. I also live on the West Coast in the Land where Anything Goes so I wouldn't know how to play the game out in sophisticated New York. But Morals? The Bush Administration would have been long gone if this were a problem.

Spitzer hired a Brunette, 5'4", 105 lb. Commodity to take a train to Washington DC and book a room in the Mayflower Hotel so that he could beg her to do it without a condom. I think I read that he paid for 4 hours from 10:00pm on Feb. 13 to 2 am on Feb. 14. But Spitzer only used her for 2. I told you this was all about Quickies. I've also warned to never even think of trying to find Love on Valentine's Day. It never ever works.

Eliot "Client 9" Spitzer
b. June 10, 1959 Bronx, NY

Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a Gemini. They're polygamous. I forgot to write down his chart stuff down. Where's his Moon? Oh yeah, that symbolizes his Wife and she's

Silda "First Wife" Spitzer
b. Dec. 10, 1957 Chapel Hill, NC

Comparing charts here gets interesting.

Mr. and Mrs. Spitzer have Suns which exactly oppose each other. Eliot's is 19 Gemini and Silda's is 19 Sagittarius.

Their Venus's (Her Planet) also oppose each other. Eliot's at 4 Leo (conjunct his Mars 6 Leo) and Silda's at 3 Leo.

The couple's Mars's (His Planet) are in squaring signs. Mars in the charts does throw some klinkers in the nuptial bliss with its intensity. Squaring Signs challenge each other, for one. But, these challenging aspects between Venus and Mars really increase the sexual attraction.

Eliot's Mars is conjunct his Venus and Uranus and possibly his Moon which is a fairly kinky aspect. He's got quite a Sex drive going there. This combination also makes for a really nice person but in Leo the Hubris thing I guess got the better of him.

Silda's Mars is in Scorpio is unaspected. Unaspected planets, in Noel Tyl's terms, "runs away with the chart." So she likes a guy with a long whip. Probably she likes his ambition and is willing to give up a little in favor of success. Maybe less so now that her Sun has long progressed out of Capricorn.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Spitzer have the Moon at 3-4 degrees Leo in the Noontime charts. So that means they have either Cancer or Leo Moon. They really are in sync with each other for Better or, um, Worse. There's a problem with some squares between Mars and Neptune. On the positive side I think this makes a couple want to help others. On the negative side it makes them do weird, creepy things. This square is in Elliot's natal chart but also in their Marriage chart (along with a conjunction of Venus-Pluto-Mercury, ooo boy).

Example of a Marriage Chart that Leads to Great Political Success and Fall through a Hooker named Kristen who was Rented from the Emperor's Club:

Oct. 17, 1987 (place? New York)

Sun 25 Libra; Moon Leo? (Moon conjunct their natal Moons?); NN 3 Aries (no shit)
Mars conjunct Libra South Node squaring Neptune

The Most interesting part of this story are the Progressed Retrogrades that have occurred in this couple's lives so far. Thank God there are only two.

The first is, this isn't a surprise, Silda's Venus. Silda is a people pleasing Sagittarius. The women are people pleasers, but they are also freedom loving. They attract marriage like flies but can really struggle with the confines of boring old same old, same old. Silda's first marriage failed. She was married in 1982 for 29 days. So years later, she met Eliot and they decided to give it a go. Silda's Venus went Retrograde by Progression the Month after they got married. She's really been sticking this one out. Robert Blaschke's book on Progressions would have a great description for what prog.Venus Rx means. I don't have it nearby. Noel Tyl has described natal Venus Rx succinctly as the person develops Loveability issues. Their entire Libra (Venus) marriage has been ruled by Silda's feeling unloveable (deep down, of course). She's so pretty and intelligent. It would be interesting to look at her Juno placement. Maybe later.

The second Rx Progression is Eliot's Mercury. His P.Mercury went Retrograde in 2001-2. It's really interesting that his political career really took off at that point and has suffered from his overly Mercurial personality. Spitzer's Mercury went Retrograde while conjunct his natal Uranus in Leo. This doesn't imbue a sublte, sweet communication style. He became a Crusader and Truth Teller for all kinds of Noble Causes. Unfortunately he began to yell at everyone and brag about what a Steamroller he was. It's very appropriate that Spitzer was caught through Mercury-Uranus means, through surveillance on his electronic accounts. Spitzer's Progressed Sun is moving into conjunction with p.Mercury and progressed and Natal Uranus so work-wise he may really take on even more of a crusade. I'm not sure, I think prog. Sun might just be finishing up with the conjunction to his Venus and Mars so he may be spent in those departments. It's not worth it if you have to use a condom.

Girl 27 - Patricia Douglas

A new documentary called Girl 27 has been released about a Scandal and Cover-Up at the old MGM Studios. In 1937, a girl was raped at a party given by the Studio. She pressed charges but the Studio ran a smear campaign against her in order to cover their name. The Court dismissed the case in favor of the studio.

MGM had hired about 130 young girls for "a project," dressed them up like Cow girls and drove them out to a Barn. They had no idea they were going to a party let alone being prostituted. About 300 Salesmen walked in, got progressively drunker and eventually 2 girls were raped. One of them, 20-year old Patricia Douglas was beaten until her eyes were swollen shut. After having her Reputation destroyed by a front page article in the newspaper, she was destroyed. She married something like 3 times in 5 years and eventually became almost a recluse.

Then, weird thing, a reporter investigating a completely different story came across the news stories and eventually decided to investigate her story. At the time of the party/rape, Mars was Retrograde at 3 Sagittarius. It continued in Retrograde by Secondary Progression until 1990 when it Stationed Direct at 18 Scorpio. The Reporter, David Stenn, came across the Story shortly after that while researching a different story and officially decided to investigate it in September, 1993. Stenn spent 10 years working on this story eventually publishing an article in Vanity Fair magazine called "It Happened One Night...at MGM." He then made the DVD using an Interview with the Victim. He says she died the day after he called her (Nov. 10, 2003) to tell her that people were mailing him sympathetic responses to her story. Her reply: "Thank You. I can go now." She was 85 or 86 years old and had sat in Silence for 65 years, got retribution and died. This is so Scorpio. The Rape, the Power Struggle, the Confrontation, the Big Corporate Studio, Impotence, Silence, Research, the Vindication, the Death.

The Transits for the day of Patricia Douglas' Death are absolutely amazing to compare against the Event Chart of the Party.

For one, the Sun was at 18 Scorpio. This is the same degree that Mars was at when it came out of Retrograde in 1990. This Sun also was opposing the Sun of the Event chart. The Nodal Axis was layered over them, NN to Event Chart Sun in Taurus (Conjunct Merc Rx-Uranus) and SN to Death Chart Sun in Scorpio.

Second, transiting Pluto was conjunct the 16 Sagittarius North Node of the Event Chart.

Transiting Jupiter was conjunct the 8th House Neptune of the Event Chart. There's more but I'll stop here.

Another thing that interests me is a comparison with the Chart that I looked at on yesterday's blog called "Protective Pit Bull." Both charts have a Grand Trine between Mars-Saturn-Pluto. The planets are not in the same signs but are in the same houses (Times I'm using are probably accurate within 1/2 hour)! Mars in the 11th House trining Pluto in the 7th with Saturn in the 3d house. This is an extremely busy Event Chart with lots of aspects, 2 Grand Trines and a Grand Square but Mars has no challenging aspects, only these trines.

The Date of the "Party:"
May 5, 1937 Hollywood, CA

Girls showed up at Studio at 4pm for Make-Up and Costumes and driven to Party
7pm - Salesmen show up and begin drinking heavily and grabbing the Girls
10pm - David Ross, Age 36, and a couple of other guys grab Patricia Douglas, pin her down and pour booze down her throat. Ross eventually drags her outside and beats and rapes her.
11:30pm - Patricia Ross comes stumbling back to the Party beaten and raped.

Case dismissed by Court Feb. 9, 1938

Sept. 1993 Writer David Stenn decides to investigate Patricia Douglas's case.

Vanity Fair Article published: April 2003

Patricia Douglas dies Nov. 11, 2003, Las Vegas, CA

Link to Article: http://www.vanityfair.com/fame/features/2003/04/mgm200304

be of love (a little) more careful than of anything

We had a player piano in our house when I was growing up. It was an old 1910 model that my Mother bought in a junk shop and painted all kinds of bold colors: fuschia, olive green, orange, dark brown and cream. This is the piano that my parents partied on with a collection of piano rolls that came with it. I took my piano lessons on it and the dog scratched his back against it. Beside it on the wall my Mother tacked a lithograph made by the Artist/Nun Sister Mary Corita. It was an abstract print with a few bright colors with the words I've put into the title of this blog. Turns out those weren't Corita's words though. She was a Scorpio. The poet who penned this wisdom was a Libra:

e e cummings
b oct 14 1894 (7pm) cambridge mass.

sun 22 libra (moon 25 aries) asc 6 gemini (mc 10 aquarius) nn 30 pisces

What a great chart for a poet:

Sun in Libra trine Neptune
Gemini Ascendant
Neptune c. Pluto in Gemini in the 1st House in a Grand Trine with Aquarius MC and Venus in Libra in H5.
Mercury (Chart Ruler) c. Uranus (MC Ruler) in H6 squaring the MC and inconjunct Neptune-Uranus.
North Node on the Aries Point, either 30 Pisces or 1 Aries depending who draws the chart.

Complicating this configuration is his Moon in Aries. It's conjunct Retrograde Mars and opposing Saturn-Chiron in Libra. In his bio, his early life is full of crazy events. He was roommates with John Dos Passos and they both joined the Ambulance brigade in WWI together. Cummings was arrested for suspicion of espionage and spent 3 1/2 months in jail in France, Sept-Dec, 1917 (prog. Sun in Scorpio c. n.Uranus-Mercury, square MC). He was released and then drafted into the Army. His Father died in a car crash when he was 26 (Pluto-NN square natal Nodes). And by 1931 he had been married and divorced 3 times.

--be of love (a little) more careful than of anything.

Cummings spoke this from experience. Impetuous Aries Moon-Mars opposing Sun-Saturn in Libra. That aspect will certainly teach one some lessons about Love and Relationships. And Cummings described his experience through a completely new and original voice. And it looks as though both Cummings and his love life seem to have normalized a bit once both his progressed Mars and prog. Mercury went out of retrograde between 1930 and 1932. He met someone in 1931 and stayed with her for the rest of his life.

To get you in the mood for Libra, here's a link to some of ee cumming's poetry, photos, and art:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/8454/eec.htm. Enjoy.

The Open Secret

Yesterday's News contained the story about how the CIA is airing its Dirty Laundry and disclosing all the gnarly plots it has cooked up from time to time in the past. Most notable is an attempt to kill Fidel Castro in 1960. The CIA chose yesterday to hang its stinky underpants on the line. How come?

I began to wonder if this is not a Mercury Retrograde thing. All those intelligent, intuitive folks at "The Agency" instinctually know when to let loose a silencer and get away before others smell it. They know when to hand a bunch of trashy information over to the Press in order to clear their names. And probably a Mercury Retrograde would be a good time to do this in order to avoid an hysterical reaction. People are simply just too discombobulated to respond with anything but "yeah, so what?" And, as a matter of fact, almost all of the planets are retrograde right now. Remember the TB Man story? Yeah -- neither do I. Basically all the lights are out, planets moving in slow motion. So that was my beginning question and it looks like a good idea, an interesting slant to Mercury Retrograde. Confess all your goofs during Merc Retro and ye shall be forgiven, or at least forgotten really quickly.

Then, I needed to know if the CIA has a natal retrograde Mercury. No. It has no Retrograde planets at all, not even a Node.

Then I read about the CIA on Wikipedia. It's sort of the agency that everyone snickers about as being an Open Secret. Everyone knows that the CIA doesn't do anything openly. What kind of "signs" can get away with this? They staffed the original office with Nazi agents to whom they not only gave immunity from war crimes, but well-paying jobs! How American.

Central Intelligence Agency
est. July 26, 1947 (National Security Act). Signed by Harry S. Truman

Sun 3 Leo; Moon probably in Scorpio; NN 1 Gemini

Notable aspects:

Gemini NN sextile Leo Sun and trine Neptune in Libra
Sun in Leo unaspected to any other planets, squaring Chiron 3 Virgo
Mars 18 Gemini c. Uranus 25 Gemini, no Ptolomaic aspects so even more volatile than usual
Saturn 12 Leo c. Pluto 13 Leo square Jupiter 18 Scorpio and sextiling Neptune 9 Libra
The Whole chart's like an H-Bomb until you look at the Daisies:
Mercury 18 Cancer c. Venus 23 Cancer trining Jupiter in Scorpio and possibly Moon.
No Retrograde Planets.
No Planets in Earth.
Planets all on one side of chart bounded by Moon-Jupiter inconjunct Mars-Uranus

The CIA was "activated" on Sept. 18, 1947, a day after it's Director was sworn into office:

Sun 25 Virgo; Moon once again in Scorpio (so James Bondian); NN 26 Taurus

Notable Aspects:

Sun 25 Virgo c. Venus 29 Virgo
Mercury 11 Libra c. Neptune 10 Libra
NN 26 Taurus with Jupiter conjunct SN in Scorpio.
2d Lunar Return in Scorpio after the signing.
Saturn 18 Leo c. Pluto 15 Leo
Mars 23 Cancer. If the office opened at 9am, Mars would have been exactly c. the MC.

So, why the Disclosure now? Well, the CIA has just had its Saturn Return and t.Saturn is triningt. Pluto. Those planets are in conjunction in the natal charts so really respond well to their own big transits. The CIA's Progressed Sun just changed signs from Virgo to Libra and is still conjunct progressed Venus which is applying to conjunction with natal Neptune by 2 degrees. The CIA is just one big Sun-Venus aspect. Since Venus rules the 7th house of "Open Enemies" I suppose it makes a lot of sense that this planets could possibly rule the idea of "Open Secrets." Scorpio's the natural ruler of Spying, but I think we need to take a better look at Venus. It rules the Taurus North Node as well.

When the plot to assassinate Castro was hatched the progressed Sun and t.Uranus were conjunct natal Saturn-Pluto. Progressed Mars was conjunct n. Uranus. And, if using a 9 am time for the chart, t. Pluto and the t. NN would have been passing over the Virgo Ascendant that year. That's a trigger happy combination of aspects!

When the plot was first revealed by a reporter in 1971 the CIA was going through its Jupiter return. Remember, Jupiter (right/wrong, publishing) is in Scorpio (spies, murder, assassination, covert operations) in the natal chart and even conjunct the South Node of the chart for the first day of business (2d chart mentioned). South Node represents a chart's sore spot, behavior to stay away, past life guffaws if you will (I was going to say BoZo NoNo's but I think I used that in yesterday's blog). Prog. Mercury (the media) was conjunct the natal Saturn-Pluto conjunction. T. Saturn was conjunct the natal NN.

Leonard Eron, TV and Aggression

Leonard Eron is the guy who did the Landmark Psychological Study which linked violence in Children to the violence they see on Television. He passed away on May 3 from Congestive Heart Failure at his home in Illinois at the age of 87.

This was supposed to be a quickie where I locate Mars and Sun in his chart and be done with it. After all, violence isn't complex. Kids aren't complex either. Woof. I get the birth data from his obituary in today's San Jose Mercury News. Another Taurus.

Leonard Eron
b. Apr. 22, 1920 Newark, NJ

Sun 3 Taurus; Moon either Gemini or Cancer; NN 16 Scorpio.

So, yeah, if you look at his chart you go GAW! Leo & 5th house rules Children and Mars rules violence, little boys, and puppy dog ears. Eron had Sun opposite Mars. Bingo. His Mars is in Scorpio, sign of its traditional rulership and it's Retrograde. So aggression is right up this guy's alley. It goes further though. The Sun-Mars opposition actually expands out into a Kite where Mars is involved in a Grand Water (Feelings) Trine with Uranus 5 Pisces and Pluto 6 Cancer. Sun-Mars-Pluto-Uranus. You mention that combination in hard aspect to any garden variety astrologer and they just slant their eyes and ask "Who did he kill?"

Mars (in Scorpio, geead I gotta repeat that) is also handle to a Bucket Chart which puts so much more energy on it. But the Bucket Shape starts to show a gentler story because it is made up of a Boat Shape: opposition of Uranus in Pisces to Saturn R Virgo strung together by sextiles. Sextiles give talent and flow and depend on some action oriented trauma from Mars in order to get some locomotion. So, Uranus sextile Sun sextile Pluto sextile Saturn. You mention Uranus-Sun-Pluto-Saturn to your garden variety astrologer and he/she still asks "Who did he kill?". Remember though that the signs the planets are in are all feminine & receptive signs and Mars is Retrograde so it's influence is stifled or slowed in some way.

So where's Venus? Sweet, charming Venus who wouldn't harm a fly? Venus is in Aries conjunct Chiron and Mercury all dispositing to Mars. The conjunction is trining a conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune at 9 Leo (kids) and squaring Pluto in Cancer (parents). In addition to being conjunct to the degree, Jupiter and Neptune are Parallel which doubles and triples the power of this conjunction. Kind of a magical combination involving entertainment and kids.

I'll also add that all Eron's planets strongly aspect, or interact, so the energies between them flow and don't get stuck. Maybe this is something to look for. Unaspected planets can come on real strong during difficult transits and progressions. Also, there are no Out of Bounds planets.

Eron did his first study in 1960, was commissioned to do a follow up study in 1969 and then continued followup studies until 2000. Originally 875 3d-graders were studied in Columbia County, NY. The San Jose Mercury News includes an interesting description from his son on how the results were discovered by accident (Mars-Uranus). The original study was trying to connect child rearing habits with aggression. Apparently everyone was afraid of Communist Plots in 1960 and got paranoid that psychologists were commies out to perform mind control experiments. So, in order to defer the paranoias, questions about Television viewing habits were casually asked in order to relax the parentsand make the study sound like "Ladies Home Journal" questions. Eron's got Scorpio North Node so dealing paranoia was right up his alley along with psychology, research and hidden meanings. He excelled at all of these. Psychologists must perform better when accused of being a Communist. I'll have to remember that for next week's session.

So, I'm coming back to Eron's Mars for one final note: the movement of his Progressed Mars is linked up with his research to the year. Natally, remember it's Retrograde. It progressed back from Scorpio into Libra until 1960 when it went direct. This is the year he started the study. Then it returned to it's natal position at 1 Scorpio in 2000 the final year of the study.

Pluto and Chiron were also opposing each other in 1960 and conjunct the Saturn-Uranus opposition in his chart (border of the Boat).

I'm not even sure what rules Television. I'm assuming Mercury and Uranus, maybe Neptune? Where did I put Bills? In 1960, Eron's Solar Arc Mercury was probably close to conjunct his South Node. Progressed Mercury was squaring the transiting Nodes. And Venus and Sun were also progressing through Gemini.

First Rabies Survivor

There's a continuing story about a young girl in the Mid-West who was bit by a rapid Bat and lived to tell about it. She is the first person to survive a Rabies Virus infection without having received an inoculation. She was bit on her finger while trying to remove the bat from her Church. Her Mother rinsed off the bite at home with Hydrogen Pyroxide but figured no other treatment was necessary until a month later when the victim began to show symptoms. Rabies affects the neurological system and then the muscular system. The Doctors treated her by inducing a Coma and then flooding her system with a huge dose of drugs. The idea was to keep her mind and body at rest in order to avoid neurological damage (or something like that) while allowing the drugs to get rid of the disease.

There have been 6 similar bites since this miraculous treatment but none of the Victims has survived. Only 2, however, were treated with a version of this "Milwaukee" protocol but none with the same type or amount of drugs. The Doctors are beginning to wonder if this is a Medical Miracle, sort of a one-shot deal, or the beginnings of a great new treatment. I had to look. I found the girl's birth date (or something close to it) but I don't want to disclose it. Sort of get the feeling that her family is not into astrology. But it's an interesting chart to read from an astrological point of view.

Well, so coma and drugs, we're gonna look at Neptune as Neptune rules altered states of consciousness. Neptune was in Retrograde when this girl was bit. It continued to Retrograde while she began to show symptoms, received the diagnosis and was put under. It came out of Retrograde the day before the Doctors determined that her body was fighting off the virus and she could be brought back up out of the coma. This sort of makes me think that a drug induced coma was the right treatment for her at the time.

If the birth date I have is correct she has a conjunction of Sun and Jupiter which is otherwise unaspected. This accounts for her great good Luck. It also accounts for her interests in sports and love of animals (she was picking the bat up by the wings in order to remove it from the church). Transiting Neptune was trining this Sun-Jupiter conjunction. That speaks for the Luck and Miracle theory. The day she was put into the coma, the Moon (Care) was conjunct Neptune (Hospitals, Coma, Drugs) and also trining the Sun-Jupiter. For the next few days the Moon would have passed over her North Node in Aquarius and then over Uranus in Pisces. This would have been very healing for her electrical system and nerves (Uranus and Aquarius). A few days after that Neptune stationed Direct. The next day her lab results showed that her body was fighting off the virus and the Doctors began to bring her out of the coma. Another thing, none of the inner planets went Retrograde at this time. This really would have have helped to keep things progressing without complications. Mercury waited until December to do a 3 week retrograde and by then the girl was in rehab. Interesting that the first sign that she was recovering was that she could wiggle her toes. Toes and feet are ruled by Neptune.

Wonder if Retrogrades have anything to do with Medical Recoveries, especially if they coincide in some way with the illness or treatments involved. Back in the Fall I studied another story about a woman in a coma with brain damage due to stress from pregnancy and noticed that Mars coming out of Retrograde corresponded with her miraculous recovery.

The girl's transits at the time were otherwise quite difficult. Saturn was in Cancer conjunct her natal Mars and probably Moon. Saturn is in its opposite sign when in Cancer and Mars is also not well placed in that sign. Since Moon rules Cancer, a conjunction to the Moon would only intensify this tension. There is mention that she was very irritable during recovery and people were laughing it off as being a good feisty sign that she was showing her age. Maybe a good thing to induce an irritable mood in very sick patients, maybe it helps to fight whatever's taking over the body. Also, T.Pluto was opposite her Sun-Jupiter conjunction with t.Sun and Mars squaring. Mars = Bites. Pluto = Bats. Oppositions = relationships, opposing forces. It was just a great day for a Bat Bite, what can I say?

There is one indicator in this girl's birth chart which indicates that hopefully the treatment she received will be used to save other's lives. Most of her planets are in Cardinal Signs which indicate a self-starter or one who starts a new trend.

Progressed Sun was on the Aries Point in Cancer conjunct her natal Venus-Chiron and beginning to oppose her stellium in Capricorn of Uranus-Saturn-Neptune. This can account for the health problems, extreme change in lifestyle plus the worldwide attention. T. Pluto opposite n.Jupiter can also bring Fame and miracles.

Natally, this chart is very powerful. The Capricorn stellium of outer Planets poses a strongly tenacious personality. Pluto in Scorpio, its own sign signifies life and death struggles. These planets alone represent a generation that is inheriting a difficult world. We can expect to hear more of these stories from many of the kids from this generation.